Lives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover, volume 1 (of 2)Doran, Dr. (John)
History
Lives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover, volume 1 (of 2)
Doran, Dr. (John)
Hanover, House of; Queens -- Great Britain -- Biography
As the prince died without priestly aid, so was his funeral unattended
by a single bishop to do him honour or pay him respect. With the
exception of Frederick’s own household and the lords appointed to hold
the pall, ‘there was not present one English lord, not one bishop,
and only one Irish peer (Limerick), two sons of dukes, one baron’s
son, and two privy councillors.’ It was not that want of respect was
intentional, but that no due notice was issued from any office as to
the arrangement of the funeral. The body was carried from the House
of Lords to Westminster Abbey, but without a canopy, and the funeral
service was performed, undignified by either anthem or organ.
But the prince’s friend, Bubb Dodington, poured out a sufficient
quantity of expressed grief to serve the entire nation, and make up
for all lack of ceremony or of sorrow elsewhere. In a letter to Mann,
he swore that the prince was the delight, ornament, and expectation
of the world. In losing him the wretched had lost their refuge,
balm, and shelter. Art, science, and grace had to deplore the loss
of a patron, and in that loss a remedy for the ills of society had
perished also! ‘Bubb de Tristibus’ goes on to say, that _he_ had lost
more than any other man by the death of the prince, seeing that his
highness had condescended to stoop to him, and be his own familiar
friend. Bubb protested that if he ever allowed the wounds of his grief
to heal he should be for ever infamous, and finally running a-muck
with his figures of speech, he declares--‘I should be unworthy of
all consolation if I was not inconsolable.’ This is the spirit of
a partisan; but, on the other side, the spirit of party was never
exhibited in a more malignantly petty aspect than on the occasion of
the death of the prince. The gentlemen of his bedchamber were ordered
to be in attendance near the body, from ten in the morning till the
conclusion of the funeral. The government, however, would order them
no refreshment, and the Board of Green Cloth would provide them
with none, without such order. Even though princes die, _il faut que
tout le monde vive_; and accordingly these poor gentlemen sent to a
neighbouring tavern and gave orders for a cold dinner to be furnished
them. The authorities were too tardily ashamed of thus insulting
faithful servants of rank and distinction, and commanded the necessary
refreshments to be provided. They were accepted, but the tavern dinner
was paid for and given to the poor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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